Strings of the Mind
by Dream-Leaf-Alex
Summary: *SPOILERS FOR SOCK OPERA. AU* A body for a puppet, Bill thought it was a fine idea. But while talking to Dipper... he may have come up with a better plan. Instead of forcing Dipper out of his body, instead Bill let him stay there. But with a price. Dipper may not be himself. A soft, blanket is around his mind, and Dipper may find himself falling deeper, deeper, and deeper into it.
1. Just the Beginning

**A Puppet With Strings by Drean-Leaf-Alex **

**OOC: Most of this chapter is kind of like the first half of the episode. I really dislike doing chapters like this, so thank god this is an AU. .-. Just as a side note, of course. But whatever. After this, it will all be my own dialogue and ideas! Enjoy, guys. 3**

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><p>"Oh come on!" Dipper groaned, as once again, the red flash showed up on the screen showing that once again, he had gotten the password wrong. It seemed like every password that Dier deemed possible failed. Was it a word? A bunch of letter? Numbers? Or something totally random? It seemed that he tried everything, from 'Journal 3', to 'Overlord', and to 'vomiting.'<p>

And to Dipper, it seemed the laptop was taunting him. Every beep it made, every red flash it made, was making Dipper more and more determined to get the password finally right. But was all...

"Wrong password! Wrong, wrong!" Dipper groaned softly, almost willing to take the laptop and fling it across the room in his anger. _But that won't do any good. _Dipper let out a frustrated sigh as he leaned back, head propped against his pillow as his eyes closed. _Come on Dipper, think, think! There has to be some solution._

"Don't stay up all night, Dipper! Last time you were this sleep deprived, you tried to eat your own shirt." Mabel's voice rang out, making Dipper snap out of his thoughts... and made him realize that he was chewing on his own shirt. Spitting it out quickly, Dipper blushed slightly as he wiped the wetness off it. One of his embarrassing childhood habits that had still hung on him.

"Just a few more tries," Diper said as he looked over towards Mabel. Her expression of disbelief made him sigh, relenting a bit. "I promise Mabel! I won't stay up all night on this mystery."

"You better not! Otherwise you won't be able to help with my sock puppets tomorrow!" Mabel called cheerfully, before she pulled the covers over her head, and with one arm reaching out, turned down her lamp. "Goodnight, Dipper!"

_Like you were __supposed__ to help me with the laptop's password? _Dipper silently shot back, before he caught himself. _No, she's just being Mabel; obsessed with one boy at one time, and does everything she can to get him to like her. _Dipper snorted softly to himself before leaning back against the wall to get another look at the screen. TIme to face his biggest challenge; figuring out the password.

"Ugh, I can't take that sound anymore!" Dipper muttered as he stared at the computer screen, still showing him the blank eight spaces, ready to be filled up with the right combination of letters and numbers. Okay, maybe it _had _been more than a few tries since Mabel went to sleep. Maybe... about fifty. He rubbed one of his eyes, which had slowly began to droop down to the stare of closed.

"One more try..." For the billionth time, Dipper typed in another eight-lettered word. **Beep.** 'I. Hate. You. Sound!" Dipper said, as he started to repeatedly bang down on the laptop's keyboard, before stifling an upcoming yawn. Maybe moving outside wasn't the best idea Dipper had thought it would be. He had thought that maybe, the cool fresh air would make his head a bit more clear, but now it was only sharpening his annoyance, and it was just keeping him trying and trying.

_Maybe Mabel's right, and I should just get some sleep... _Dipper thought, rubbing his head tiredly. _But... _"There has to be some shortcut or clue... Who would know about secret codes?" As if on cue, a gust of cold wind blew past him, so strong that it shut the laptop closed, and it nearly fell off his lap.

Gripping it tightly so it wouldn't fall, Dipper slowly got up All around him, leaves were blowing in the wind and the trees were shaking hard. "Something is going on..." Dipper muttered as he eyed the space around him, before a sudden beam of light shot down on him from behind.

What he saw when he turned made Dipper gasp. On the moon, one straight line was leering down on him. _Is that... an eyeball? _Dipper thought briefly, before suddenly, a blue light flashed, coming together to form... a triangle.

"I think I know a guy!" Bill said cheerfully, as he floated above Dipper. "Well, well, well, you're awfully persistent Pine Tree. Hats off to you!" And with that, Bill took off his hat, and suddenly, the world began to tilt, making Dipper gasp as he slid on the roof, bumping against the top of the Mystery Shack thankfully, before Bill put his hat back on, which made gravity return to normal.

Breathing coming in short gasps from that short scare, Dipper felt himself back up a bit, bumping against the window of the Shack. "You again!"

"Did you miss me?" Bill said, as he floated closer towards Dipper, before he squinted his eye as if he was grinning. "Admit it, you missed me!"

"Hardly! Dipper narrowed his eyes slightly on Bill. "You worked with Gideon! You tried to destroy my uncle's mind!"

"It was just a job kid! No hard feelings!" Bill chuckled slightly, winking his one eye. Before a 'serious' expression came upon his eye. "I've been keeping an -" Suddenly Bill's eye got really big and red, as if the blood veins were ready to burst. "- **eye on you** -" Bill's eye immediately shrunk back to it's original size, and got white as the moon again. "And I must say I'm impressed!"

For a moment, part of Dipper's suspicion melted away. _Bill of all people is noticing what I'm doing around here?_ "Really?" Dipper said questioningly, raising one eyebrow.

"You deserve a prize…" Bill said, tapping his bowtie with one finger, before his eye widened a bit. "Here! Have a head that's always screaming!" With a clap of his hands, suddenly, a large head, about the size of Dipper dropped on the ground in front of Dipper… and immediately started to scream.

_Does he always have to be so literal?_ Dipper thought as he shied away from the repeatedly screaming head, before it disappeared into the air by first it's skin, then tissue, followed by muscles and bones.

Bill floated down, before sitting (_Could you even call it that?_ Dipper thought to himself for a moment.) on the ledge of the roof. "The point is, I like you. How about you let me give you a hint, huh?" With one hand, Bill pushed Dipper closer to him. "I only ask for a small _favour _in return." For a moment, Bill's hand and eye lit up with a brillant blue fire at the mention of 'favour', but as quick as it came, it disappeared.

Dipper had to ask himself sometimes if he really was seeing everything he thought he was.

"I'd never do a favour for you!" Dipper said, backing away a bit as he still clutched the laptop in his hands. "Don't forget who defeated you last time!"

"Right…" Dipper blinked, and realized that Bill was now not in front of him - he was behind him! "You 'defeated' me." Bill said, making quotations with his hands to emphasize the point. "But if you ever change your mind, I'll be ready for you! Ready to make a deal!"

Dipper opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Bill quickly said. "Hey, wanna see my impression of you in about three seconds…" And with that, he let out a scream, snapping Dipper right out of the dream.

… And making him scream like that himself as he woke up. Sometimes, he really hated Bill.

"_Mabel, listen to me! Last night I had a dream with Bill in it!"_

"_Wait, hold up… the triangle guy?"_

"_He'd said he'd give me the code to the laptop if I gave him something… like I'd actually trust Bill, right?"_

"_Don't worry Bro, today's the day the Mystery Twins are back in action! I'll help you crack that code!"_

"_Wh-Wh-Woah! Mabel! You said you were going to help me!"_

"_Dipper! This sock-crias just bulked up to a code argyle! The laptop can wait!"_

"_Mabel, do you seriously think your random quest of the week is more important than uncovering the mysteries of this town? You're obsessed!"_

"_I'm obsessed? Look at you! You like like you're a vampire! And NOT the hot kind!"_

"_But you said you were going to help me today!"_

"_Well I can help you, with tickles!"_

"_Hahahaha,- arrgh! Okay, fine! You know what? I'll do it on my own!"_

"Passwords… passwords…" Dipper muttered under his breath as he typed away on the laptop. Okay, maybe he was obsessed. But this was important! This was to find out what was actually going on at Gravity Falls! Instead, she was swooning over this new guy and…

"Ugh. Mabel. Is. Useless." Even that didn't work. A yawn slowly escaped his jaws as he stared at the screen. If she helped… then he wouldn't be so sleep deprived! Couldn't she see that? "Aw man…"

"**TOO MANY FAILED ENTRIES. INITIATE DATA ERASE, IN FIVE MINUTES."**

"No! No, NO!" Dipper gasped as he stared at the screen. It couldn't be happening. Everything would just blow up if he didn't get the password right in one more try. "I'm gonna lose everything… one more try isn't enough!"

Suddenly, the room around Dipper became gray, it's color melting away. Eyes widening, he jumped off the window sill, just in time to see Bill appear. From the triangular-shaped window. "Well, well, well. Someone's looking desperate!"

"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" Dipper said, backing away a bit from Bill.

"I can help you kid, you just need to hear out my demands!" Bill said, his cane appearing, and he carefully pointed out at the computer. A minute down already.

Dipper bit his lip. It couldn't be too hard to HEAR out his demands? If it was something crazy… well he wouldn't agree, that's all. "Ugh… what crazy thing do you want, anyway? To eat my soul? To rip out my teeth? … Are you going to replace my eyes with baby-heads or something?"

"Yeesh, kid, relax!" Bill said, eyes narrowing for a second. "All I want is a puppet!"

"A… puppet?" Dipper's gaze flickered over towards the tons of puppets Mabel had lined up in her room. What could Bill possibly want with any of those? "What are you playing at?"

"Everyone loves puppets!" Bill said, before pointing his cane at the stack of puppets lined up. "And it looks to me, you have a surplus!"

Okay… that didn't sound like the worst trade-off. One of Mabel's puppets for the password to unlock so much? But… he took a second glance over at the puppets. "I… I-I don't know, man. Mabel worked really hard on these…" Dipper said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Seems to me that one little puppet is a small price to pay to learn all the secrets of the universe!" Bill said, poking at one of the puppets eyes. "Besides..." He said, now floating over towards Dipper. "What's your sister done for you lately? How many times you sacrificed for her, huh? And when has she ever returned the favour?"

Dipper wanted to shout out at Bill, and say that's not true, and defend her. But… honestly he couldn't. He was still ticked off with Mabel, and it was true… his eyes shifted from the puppets to the computer. Thirty seconds left… it was now, or never.

"Tick-tock, kid!" Bill said, reaching out a hand towards Dipper.

"... Just one puppet … fine!" Dipper said, as he reached out his hand, and grasped Bill's, and together they shook, making a blue fire ignite.

"So… what puppet are you going to pick anyway?" Dipper said, raising his eyebrow. Honestly, he was curious. What could a dream demon want with a puppet anyway?"

"Hmm… let's see…" Bill said, his gaze seemingly going towards the puppets. "Eenie.. meanie… minie... **YOU**!"

"Wait, what?" Dipper said, trying to shake Bill's now firm grasp on his hand. With that, an electrical charge ran down his arm.

"See what happens now, kid!" Bill's voice rang out as suddenly, black dots began to appear on his vision, and soon, Dipper succumbed to the blackness.


	2. Whispers

**OOC Notes:**

**This is what I get for publishing my first GF story. xD Sorry for the wait guys, and the short chapter. Honestly, I couldn't think of anything to add on to without messing up my plan for the third chapter. And things are going to get fun in there. Really. Really. Fun. :3 **

**Okay ignore the evil writing side of me. My imagination is getting way ahead of the rest of my brain. x3 For now, just have fun reading this while I work on Chapter 3. We will get more mischievous Bill then. Don't you worry... **

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

_"Dipper! Dipper!"_ Dipper's eyes twitched as the voice called out. It seemed... familiar. Achilingly. It was like whoever was talking he knew well, very well... but every time he focused on who it could be, it seemed to slip from his mind. For a moment, a fierce temptation to open his eyes, to see who could be talking to him.

_"Rest." _Another voice called out into the murky darkness, surprising Dipper. So far, there had only been that singular voice, calling over and over to him. But this voice... this voice was more dark. More commanding. Dipper shuddered slightly as an icy cold gripped him, wrapping around him. _N-No... this isn't right... I gotta... resist... _Another shudder ran through his body.

_"Rest!" _The voice commanded again, now louder and a hint of anger entered it's voice. The cold around Dipper grew colder... making him wonder briefly how it _could _get any colder.

"_Dipper, Dipper! Come on, bro, wake up already!" _It was the first voice again… _Wait, bro?_ Dipper gritted his teeth a bit as the cold receded a bit as he thought deeper. _Wait… Mabel!_

Dipper's eyes opened wide as he looked straight up into his sister's face. "Dipper! Finally you sleepy-head! Did you pass out from working on the password? I told you you're obsessed! Anyway, me and the girls are heading to the theater to set up the play! I'm using your journal as a prop for a play, and now I'll walk away before you process what I just said- BYE!" Mabel waved before she ran out of their room, heading down the stairs.

"Wha…" Dipper said, rubbing the drowsiness from his eyes before he realized what Mabel had just said. "H-Hey! I'm still angry with you!" No response from Mabel. Dipper groaned a bit before he sat upright, realizing that he was still in his bed. And then it all came rushing back to him.

"The laptop!" He said softly, seeing it closed on the floor next to his bed. For a moment, he almost didn't pick it up. Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe Mabel was right and he was getting too obsessed.

_Wait, what am I thinking? This is the mystery I've been trying to solve all summer! No way am I going to give up now! _Dipper, thought, shaking the earlier thoughts outside of his head. And then he frowned. Where did those thoughts come from anyway? Sure, maybe he was obsessing a bit. But to stop now after they had gotten so far was ridiculous.

Slowly, he opened the laptop, scared of what to see. Was all the information already gone? Or was that dream with Bill real? Slowly, Dipper lifted the lid of the laptop.

And saw eight green spaces ready to fill in with a codeword.

For a moment, Dipper sat dumbfounded as he stared at the computer. _That doesn't make sense at all… _Dipper thought, staring at the computer, his eyes wide. _I mean… whenever Bill is involved… it couldn't have just been a dream! Could it_

Dipper still looked at the computer, expecting it to change. But nothing happened… nothing happened at all. _Could that be it? That it never was counting down at all, and I was just sleeping then? I mean… it has to be… right?_

"Dipper! You in there, dude?" A voice called up from the living room which he recognized as Soos's.

Dipper's gaze, which had been locked on the computer screen slowly peeled itself away. "Yeah, I'm in here Soos!"

"Well, come on then! Aren't you coming to Mabel's play?" Another voice called, and Dipper felt his heart flutter a bit. Wendy. Even if Wendy wasn't going to go out with him, Dipper keep his feelings for her down. For a moment, Dipper hesitated, looking back at the laptop.

_Come on, now, have some fun! _He scolded… himself? Well, that was strange. But he knew he himself was sending… himself a message. _Now it's just getting confusing. _Dipper shook his head slightly.

"Coming!" Dipper called, before rushing down the stairs.

He really should have thought more about it.


	3. Changing

Chapter 3 - "Change"

"Wow… that was a nice puppet show, Mabel." Even if he was still a bit mad at Mabel, he had to admit it was pretty good for a puppet show thrown together in just a few days. The show had went without a single hitch. Even if some one the lines… ugh. "Though "Let's sing and kiss at the same time-" Seriously, Mabel? Isn't that a bit much even for your standards?" Dipper said, giving a playful, soft punch in Mabel's arm.

"Aw, come on, you know you loved it, bro!" Mabel said, in a teasing voice, playfully punching back Dipper, which in her turn her 'soft' punches were admittedly harder than Dipper's. "So, we can work on figuring out the laptop tomorrow, night, right?"

Dipper felt his smile slowly slide off his face. "Wait, tomorrow? Aren't you going to help me out tonight? I mean, you did promise to help me after the puppet show after all."

"Oh," Dipper watched as Mabel's cheeks grew redder. "Well, um, you see I got a date with Gabe tonight…" Her cheeks only grew redder in color as she spoke.

"Oh," Dipper said, biting his lip slightly, before an idea popped into this head. "Well you're going to help me tomorrow morning, right?"

"Um… I got something planned with the girls tomorrow morning…" Mabel said awkwardly, before averting her eyes from Dipper. Dipper felt whatever was left of the grin on his face before wash away. For a few moments, they just stood there, not saying anything, until a voice called out.

"Mabel! You're coming right?" Gabe's voice sounded behind them as he strutted over to them, two puppets still on his hands like always.

Immediately, Mabel brightened up a bit, at least from Dipper's perspective. "Oh, yeah!" As she nearly jumped up in excitement to walk towards Gabe, she hesitated for a moment before looking back at Dipper. "Tomorrow, right?" She said with a small smile.

"Um… yeah, sure." Dipper muttered, and with that, Mabel began to skip towards Gabe, leaving Dipper behind. His eyes trailed her for a second, before she skipped right out of view, and he let out a small sigh.

"You alright Dipper?" A voice called behind him, and he nearly jumped into the air, before a smile overcame his face. "Wendy!" He said, before turning around.

"You seem a bit down. Anything wrong?" Wendy said, a smile on her face, but it hinted a bit of concern.

'Oh… um, yeah fine. It's just… well, nothing really." Dipper said, trying his best to hold the smile in place on his face, but soon, it fell.

"Oh, come on, Dipper, it's fine! You can tell me!" Wendy said, her smile growing larger. "C'mon, maybe I can help."

"It's just… well, I kind of feel left out," Dipper admitted finally, letting out a small sigh. "You see, me and Mabel… well, we always kind of hung out with each other all time back in California. When no one was talking to us because of some stupid fight or something at school, we stuck by each other's side. And when we were really little, we never really wanted to play without one another… I know it's stupid and everything…" Dipper said, feeling his cheeks light up red as he finished, closing his eyes tightly. It must have sounded so stupid - Dipper just knew it. Especially to Wendy.

So that's why it surprised him when Wendy laid a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I suppose I kind of can relate to that…"

Dipper's eyes sprung back open in surprise, before he turned his head to see Wendy smiling down on him. "But… don't you, I don't know…"

"Oh, I understand!" Wendy said, giving Dipper a playful shove. "I have three brothers, I _know_ how it's like to feel left out, believe me. It isn't fun." And Dipper felt surprise fill him a bit more as Wendy sighed, and as _she_ averted her eyes. "It feels like you're in the dumps, I know…" Wendy then turned to face him again, once again smiling. "that you always have to keep your head high, and your ups and downs with your siblings too."

Dipper felt himself blush a bit, before pushing that feeling that as a genuine smile came upon his face. "Thanks Wendy… you're right. Are you and Soos driving me again?" He said, his voice keeping that bit of hope in it that she'd say yes - just what he needed to make the night a bit better.

"Oh, Stan said he'd drive you home," Wendy said, shrugging a bit. "He said since he didn't even know why he was really here, he'd just drive you home."

"Oh," Dipper said, the same feeling of disappointment swell in his chest like before.

"But I'll see you 'round the shack, right?" Wendy said, giving Dipper a smile, and in response was a little nod. "C'mon Soos!"

As Dipper watched her go, Dipper was surprised when he felt a hand on his back, and he looked up to see Stan beside him, hand on his shoulder. "Uh… you okay kid? You seem a bit down."

"Yeah… I'm fine, Grunkle Stan…" Dipper mumbled, shaking his head slightly. "Can we please just get back to the Mystery Shack? I kind of feel sick."

"Ugh!" A pillow flew across the room, where it bounced harmlessly off the opposite wall, falling right onto Mabel's bed.

When Dipper had gotten home, he had simply went to his room and waited. But after an hour, Mabel still wasn't home, and Dipper's frustration was getting the better of him.

"Come on, Mabel, where are you…" He muttered to himself as he slowly picked himself up from his bed, and went to the window sill, sitting down there. No sign of Mabel coming home.

Dipper let out a small groan, before he rubbed his drooping eyes. Even with him being mad at Mabel, he could admit that she had one thing right. He needed some sleep. Desperately.

Reluctantly, Dipper slowly got back into his bed, fumbling with the blanket for a few moments, before pulling it over his head, and waited for sleep to come.

And waited.

And waited.

After ten ,minutes, DIpper simply let out another frustrated groan. Now he couldn't even go to sleep!. Sitting upright in bed, Dipper's eyes traveled around the room, trying to see something that might make him sleepy. Nothing.

_Maybe I just need a glass of warm milk… then I'll fall back to sleep. _Dipper vowed to himself, before sliding off the bed, and walked to the door. _That's all I need._

"Today was the best day ever!" Mabel chimed to herself as she entered the Mystery Shack, before looking back and waving at Gabe excitedly, before closing the door behind her. Everything had went absolutely perfect. From the moment the play started, to the moment she got home. She finally had her first successful summer romance.

"Dipper! You in here?" Mabel said, as she traveled down the hall, before poking her head into the living room. "Boo- you're… not in here." Mabel said half to herself as she looked at the empty living room, if you didn't count Waddles.

"Hm… where could he be?" Mabel said cocking her head to the side slightly as she thought about it. It wasn't _that_ late. Well, maybe it was. Ten forty-five was pretty late now that she thought about it. _Maybe he's sleeping, or working on the laptop… again. He really need some sleep._

Mabel climbed up the steps, and knocked softly on the door, before putting her ear to it. Silence. Frowning, Mabel opened it slowly_, _and her eyes widened with surprise at the sight before her, and she took a slow step back.

There in front of her were pieces of the broken laptop scattered around the room, completely broken, while Dipper lay peacefully on the bed, a small smile on his face.


End file.
